


How To Keep Tony Happy

by nhasablog



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tickling, ticklish tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-12 01:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7914811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nhasablog/pseuds/nhasablog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve has a list on how to keep Tony happy that he made from different discoveries he made about the genius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How To Keep Tony Happy

Steve had learned a lot of things after he woke up in the 21st century. He hadn’t had a choice. The world had changed and things weren’t like before. That had probably been the toughest part about it all, once he’d accepted that the people he loved had been dead for years now. But he took it a day at a time, and he soon discovered that he actually enjoyed learning these new things. Most of them were interesting, others were dull. He felt like a school boy again, only this time his tests weren’t sheets of paper but actual interaction and conversations. He liked those tests better.

Once he’d memorized as much about the world and society as he could he moved on to people. Specifically the people around him. They weren’t easy to read, and Steve accepted the challenge almost happily. Anything to keep him distracted.

As it turned out you couldn’t learn everything about someone, but found out new things constantly. That also applied to relationships.

Steve and Tony had been an accident, but today they thanked the heavens for causing said accident. They hadn’t meant to fall in love, but they had, and Steve was terrified to think of a world where he didn’t love Tony Stark.

And boy did he love Tony. He loved him more than he could possibly show, and that was why he was so surprised the very first time he realized that, no, loving him didn’t mean that he knew everything about his boyfriend. Loving him meant that he accepted most of the discoveries, however, no matter how bad.

But every discovery wasn’t bad. Some of them were very, very good, in fact. So good that Steve created a little list in his head titled “How to keep Tony happy”. He tried to refer to said list as often as he could. Tony, of course, had no idea it existed. He probably didn’t think that he even deserved a list like that, but Steve would beg to differ.

It was mornings like this one, where the rain was pouring down and everyone was stressed and sore after a mission the night before and Tony’s side of the bed had been abandoned only one hour into what was supposed to be a good night’s sleep that Steve decided to try to follow every single step on his list. God knows Tony needed him to.

**1\. Provide him with caffeine (alternatively other nutrition of his choice)**

Steve’s own eyelids felt heavier than usual that morning, so he couldn’t even begin to think of how tired Tony currently was. He found him in his lab as usual with an empty cup sitting beside him on his working desk. Steve entered and placed the full cup next to the empty one without a word.

Tony gave the cups a questioning look which promptly turned to a grateful one. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Steve replied with a grin.

“Like, I really, really love you.”

“I’m pretty sure I love you more.”

Tony pointed a finger at him. “This is a war you can’t win, Cap, so you better drop it.”

“Stop asking for things you’ll never get.”

“Hey, what can I say. I was a spoiled child.”

Steve barked out a laugh and watched as Tony reached for the new cup to take a sip; his face instantly becoming more alive as he did. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“You know me too well.”

“I know some things about you.”

“The vital ones, it seems.”

They smiled at each other. One thing that they both always needed was a good start to the day.

Steve took a step closer. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Without a kiss?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

That lead them to step number two on Steve’s list.

**2\. Kiss him at random times**

Tony loved kissing. That one wasn’t a secret. He wasn’t big on being affectionate in public though, so Steve made sure to show him how much he loved and appreciated him whenever they were alone. He knew it kept Tony going. He’d grown up around people who didn’t know how to show that they cared for him. The least Steve could do was try to rectify that.

Tony hummed into the kiss, something he sometimes did when he felt extra content, and blindly placed the cup back on the desk (thankfully successfully) to wrap his arms around Steve’s neck.

Steve embraced his waist tightly in an attempt to convey just how loved Tony was, not just by him, but by so many people.

Tony pulled back and probably didn’t notice a thing. “You’re clingy.”

“Excuse me? You were the one who asked for a kiss.”

“No, I mean-” Tony paused as he searched for the right words. “You just seem extra affectionate today. In a way. The way you just hugged me felt different.”

“Was it a good different?”

“It was.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Oh, no problem at all. Just an observation.”

“Well, you’re very observant.”

“I try.”

Steve leaned in for a brief kiss. “I’ll let you work. Call for me if you’re feeling miserable without my company.” He glanced at the coffee. “Or want a refill.”

Tony laughed. “Sure thing, Cap.”

Good things come in threes, so they kissed one last time before Steve left the lab.

As the day went on Tony only emerged from his lab once so that he could have some lunch with the rest of the team. Steve was glad that Tony was adjusting to life with the Avengers. He knew that before the whole Iron Man thing Tony only really had Pepper and Rhodey to care for him, but they didn’t live with him. Tony had had a hard time figuring out how to handle living with so many people now, but he was getting there, just like they all were.

Steve smiled at him, opting to not comment on the fact that Tony looked even more exhausted than before Steve brought him that coffee all those hours ago. Instead he made sure Tony ate his food and included him in the conversations if he looked like he wanted to. After all, that was what number three on his list was all about.

**3\. Don’t pressure him**

Tony didn’t work well under pressure. Or, well, he did if he had to, but he’d once confessed to Steve that he hated when people put pressure on him. If Steve would’ve forced him to take a nap or talk to people things would only get ugly. Steve only allowed himself to pressure Tony into doing something if it was something vital, like eat or sleep. Tony would sleep that night, so he didn’t need to be forced to nap during the day. Maybe tomorrow if he didn’t sleep well though.

Tony leaned closer to him oh so casually. Steve was actually pretty impressed. “Do I have something on my face?”

“What?”

“You keep staring at me. I figured you had a reason to.”

“Oh, I do.”

“Is that so?”

Steve hoped he leaned closer just as subtly as Tony had. “You’re exceptionally handsome today. I can’t help myself.”

Something else that Steve had discovered about Tony was that he was easily flustered, but was very good at hiding it while around others. Steve knew the signs however and knew that his boyfriend was currently flushing under that look of indifference he wore.

“Oh, hush,” Tony muttered, but Steve could tell he was pleased.

He didn’t think that he would get through his entire list of how to keep Tony happy in a day, but he liked to cross at least the first few steps off before turning in for the night. This next step was one that he was particularly happy about being a fact, but it wasn’t one that he got to explore every single day due to how busy they sometimes were.

**4\. Tickle him**

Tony loved being tickled, and that discovery had given them both so much joy that Steve had to refrain from using it all the time. Tony might love it, but he wasn’t always in the mood for it, and it wasn’t always the right time. That night, however, seemed to be the perfect night to take advantage of his boyfriend’s sensitivity.

Tony knew exactly what was happening as soon as Steve joined him on the bed.

“You’ve got that look.”

“What look?”

“That you’re about to tickle me senseless.”

“You’re very observant today.”

Steve pounced and Tony started giggling instantly. Honestly, it didn’t matter that Steve was both bigger and stronger than Tony. If he still would’ve been that skinny kid from Brooklyn he would probably be able to overpower Tony anyway. Tony turned very weak when tickled, but he also tried to keep himself from struggling too much. That’s how much he loved it.

“Don’t,” Tony begged automatically as Steve pinned him by straddling his hips.

“Don’t? But you love this, don’t you? You desperately want me to tickle you to pieces, don’t you?”

Tony flushed, and this time it was very visible. “Shut up,” he mumbled, looking anywhere but on Steve.

“Sorry, no can do. I know how much you love it when I tease you.”

Which was true. The teasing was half the fun for them both. It had taken a while for Steve to catch on, but once he’d realized that Tony loved how vulnerable he could feel just by a few words and pokes Steve started combining the two actions, and boy did it give him a nice result.

Ultimately this step also helped cross off another step on the list.

**5\. Make him laugh**

Tony’s laughter echoed in the room as soon as Steve’s fingers collided with his sides. He was already tugging at his trapped hands, but that was more out of habit than because he wanted to escape. They both knew he didn’t want to escape at all.

“Nohohoho!” he cried, shaking his head in ticklish agony. “Steheheve, come ohohon.”

“What do you want, Tony? For me to trail my fingertips over your sensitive skin? For me to do that unbearably lightly? Is that what you want?”

Tony’s shaking turned to nodding.

“Your wish is my command.”

It was surprisingly easy to reduce Tony Stark to an incoherent mess. All that was needed was a poke to his side, a squeeze to his thigh, the wiggling of fingers against a ticklish, helpless tummy. It really didn’t take much, but Steve tried to not overdo it so not to have it all end way too quickly.

“Hey, why are you all red?” Steve asked as he backed off briefly to let his boyfriend breathe.

Tony, giggling and panting for air, still managed to send him a look. “Oh, you’re funny.”

“Is that why you’re laughing like a maniac?” Steve crossed his arms with a smirk.

“That’s part of it.”

“What’s the other part?”

Tony didn’t reply. Steve didn’t expect him to.

He uncrossed his arms and placed his fingers on Tony’s ribs. “Let’s get you laughing again.”

Twenty minutes later Steve was able to cross off the next step on the list.

**6\. Cuddle him**

There were a lot of other ways to keep Tony happy, but he figured his job was done for that day.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://nhasablog.tumblr.com)


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